Sonata
by northwesterlies
Summary: Bella has nightmares, and her cousin might be the only one who can help her with them...and he has a problem of his own. Can they help each other sort out their insomnia? SxB, reviews are appreciated C:


Branches whipped at my face and tore my robes, but I did not stop running. I could feel the dementors' cold creeping around my ankles, threatening to snag me and knock me to the ground. The terror that pounded through my veins was fueling their chase. I was a tantalizingly frightened soul, trapped and alone in the Forbidden Forest with no one to come to my aid. For some reason, knowing that I was going to meet my end only spurred me to run harder. I was going to go down fighting. I was not a piece of meat.

In my haste to get away, I stepped straight into a patch of brambles. My boots caught in the tangle and I was flung down, face-first, into the dirt.

The smell of soil was strong in my nose, but sickeningly stronger was the scent of rotting flesh. A million decayed souls. The dementors' death rattle was getting closer, filling my ears and freezing my limbs; I curled into the cold ground to hide from their gaping mouths-

A loud crackpulled me abruptly from my nightmare; it was the sound of my door being slammed shut. Still panting, I realized that my night clothes were clammy and wet from sweat. I blinked to let my eyes adjust in the darkness. Someone was standing by my door, someone with a tall, rangy form that looked too much like my blood-traitor cousin.

"Get the hell out of my room!" I hissed, sitting up and pulling the silk sheets up to my neck.

Sirius crossed his arms over his bare chest. "You woke me up. I came to see what you were screaming about."

"I was-" I was taken aback. My nightmares were usually never this bad. I didn't talk in my sleep, let alone scream. "I screamed?"

"God, Bella, I'm surprised the whole house isn't up," he sneered. "D'you think you'll sleep better if I turn your nightlight on?"

The adrenaline that still pumped through me fueled my anger. "You're so smug, Sirius Black," I snarled in the most threatening whisper I could manage. "You know _nothing_ of what it's like. Someday you will. I'll see to it if no one else does."

"Chill out." He was only mildly irritated, while my unruly temper was still not satiated. "I just want to sleep, okay, Bellatrix?"

"Ten seconds..." I'd Crucio his ass if he didn't get out. His condescension was infuriating.

"Fine, fine." He turned to leave, still with the air that he was humoring me. "Oh and Bella," he added before closing the door behind himself, "there's Muggle medicine that you can take for bad dreams. I have some. If you need it."

I started to form a scathing retort before I realized that he was serious. Not quite sure how to react to his offer, I just nodded, and watched him leave.

Naturally I couldn't sleep after that. I never could, after waking up from a nightmare. Despite his annoying attitude, I was glad Sirius had woken me up. Sometimes the dreams made me feel insane, trapped by my fear. The quicker I could get out of them, the better. Sirius had come just in time.

This angered me for a different reason. I felt weak for being unable to escape by myself, and the last person I wanted help from was that blood-traitor.

I lay in my four-poster bed, sleepless and churning with unpleasant emotions. According to the clock on my wall, the time was 4:47 AM. There was no possibility of more rest for me. I slid out of bed and padded over to my desk.

"_Lumos,"_ I whispered, before propping my wand against the wall. It shed a pool of light across the mahogany. I took a piece of parchment and my magic quill and began to write a letter.

Lucius Malfoy was my best friend at Hogwarts. We kept the same ideals, the same standards of life. He was the only person there who wholeheartedly accepted my treatment of Mudbloods and Muggles as ethical. In fact, he had introduced me to a rising wizard of the Dark Arts who called himself Lord Voldemort. Lucius alone knew of my nightmares and their cause, and I could think of no one better to write to when I was haunted with them.

_Dear Lucius, _I wrote, my handwriting sloppy in the dim light, _tonight has been the first time someone else has had to wake me from my unpleasant dreams. My intolerable-_ I crossed out the word after a moment of thought, and continued. _My cousin came into my room and suggested I take Muggle medicine. As if._

_Lucius, I miss you. I look forward to seeing you on the train at the beginning of our seventh year...send me an owl soon._

_P.S. Forgive me, but I do not know who else to write to at this hour, about this particular subject..._

I sealed the letter, feeling a bit foolish now for writing. He was my best friend, but I doubted that he would trouble himself over a bad dream of mine. I decided to wait to send the letter until later in the morning.

I extinguished my wand and crawled back into bed. My eyes refused to close. It was a little after 5 AM, still three hours until anyone else would be awake. After laying in the damp silk sheets for several more minutes, I decided to look for the Muggle sleep medicine Sirius had mentioned. Maybe he kept it in the bathroom...

Tiptoeing down the hall, I passed my cousins's bedroom and went into the bathroom that adjoined it. No one had to know, and I was getting desperate for one night of dreamless sleep.

I shut the bathroom door quietly behind me and turned the lamp on. As in every other room of Aunt Walburga's house, all the furnishings were made of mahogany. I peeked in the cabinet and regretted it almost immediately; there was a magazine with a tastelessly dressed Muggle girl posed on the cover. This was carelessly hidden under a pair of crumpled boxers. I wrinkled my nose. They had to belong to Sirius; Regulus had better sense and hygiene.

There was nothing more interesting in the other cabinets and drawers. Soap, Warlocks' Special Shampoo, self-heating towels. Ugh. Feeling a little reckless, and a bit frustrated, I slid through the other door in the bathroom—the one that led to Sirius's bedroom. I don't know what had gotten into me. I hoped that I would be able to locate and snag his supply of sleeping pills, but that was not what spurred me to sneak in his room.

I approached it as I would an obstacle course. Helpfully, Sirius was sprawled on his face, breathing loudly through his open mouth. I almost laughed. He looked like such a prat.

Early morning light streamed through a gap in his thick velvet curtains. I squinted around. There was nothing resembling a pill bottle on his bedside table, so I tiptoed farther.

His room was a mess. Half the floor was strewn with papers and dirty clothes. A path was cleared across the carpet for walking. I followed this, feeling quite confident. It wasn't until I tripped over a pair of jeans and fell on all fours that I began to worry about being caught.

Sirius stirred. I froze, halfway to my feet. His breath became shallow, and I heard him turn over. I didn't dare look.

"Bella?" he mumbled. "Wha's going on?"

I smiled to myself, inexplicably pleased that his initial reaction to me was not loathing.

"Nothing..." I started to back out of the room. "Go back to sleep..."

Too late. Rubbing his eyes, my cousin sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees. He looked younger than fifteen, a wiry, wild-eyed and dark-skinned boy with shaggy black hair. "My turn to ask," he said in a voice hoarse with sleep. "Why are _you _in _my _room?"

I swear, I act differently at night than I do during the daytime. My judgment becomes impaired when it's dark outside. I answered honestly. "I was looking for your Muggle sleep...whatevers."

"The pills, yeah, they're here." Even more surprising was his compliance. He rolled over and withdrew a small bottle from the drawer in his nightstand. "Take two."

I thought about just taking the pills and leaving, but another crazy, atypical urge wanted me to question him. I crossed the room and took the bottle out of his outstretched hand, then paused at his bedside.

"Why do you take them?"

He shrugged, not looking at me. "I have insomnia."

"Oh. Of course." Had I really expected him to tell me if he had a problem like mine? He hated me. "Well, thanks for these..."

"Sure." The corner of his mouth pulled up in an obligatory smile. I recognized the dismissal, he wanted to sleep. I left quietly and pulled his door closed.

I took two of his pills before going back to bed, and they worked better than a charm could. 


End file.
